'Superbug' infections spiralling in Canadian hospitals

Restaurants Have more Germ-Fighting Rules than Hospitals.

Budget cutbacks are often given as the reason many hospitals do not have sufficient staff to ensure proper precautions are being taken against antibiotic-resistant bacteria.  

However, one microbiologist estimates that the cost of not cracking down on infections may be as high as $100 million across Canada. "

The need for more hospital staff, professional and non-professional is paramount to ensuring our safety and health in hospitals.  The desparate need for more BEDS along with more staff is vitally important to patient care.  We in Nova Scotia are tired and sick of the excuses of the extremely long waits for emergency (a larger ER waiting room is NOT the answer), waits for beds for operations, for hip/knee and other replacement operations, waits for beds for cancer patients, diabetics, by-pass surgery and many others.

We are tired of paying to access health care in our hospital and medical facilities through parking user fees.  This barrier to health care is unconscionable and action must begin to STOP this demeaning and financial barrier to our health care system.  Patients should not have to pay parking to access testing, treatments and clinics in any medical facility, NOR should patients pay for ambulance, another user fee.  We have a great ambulance system if you can afford to pay for it and many Nova Scotians cannot afford to.  Extra billing was baned in Nova Scotia in the 80's, thanks to the tireless efforts of dedicated health care advocates.

We must send the message to our federal and provincial elected officials that Nova Scotians, in fact all Canadians deserve to access our front line health care through massive increases in beds, staff, elimination of "user" fees such as parking and ambulance and ensure patient safety in hospitals.  Write, call or visit your MP, MLA and even your Councillor. 

All levels of government need to provide our health care back in an early 1990's fashion when Canada was # 2 in the OCED countries and we didn't have the long waits for beds, tests, treatments and many other life-saving care.  Let's get back to caring for Canadians the Canadian way - Medicare!!!